VIDEO: Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles visits Janesville school

A student, left, takes video on her phone, as the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles performs Wednesday at TAGOS Leadership Academy in Janesville. The national touring group will be performing its 'It Gets Better' show at UW-Whitewater at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles perform Wednesday at TAGOS Leadership Academy in Janesville, followed by a discussion with students about bullying. The national touring group will perform its 'It Gets Better' show at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at UW-Whitewater.

Also: A pre-show discussion with writer/director Liesel Reinhart at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium lobby. Also in the lobby, AT&T will record people's stories about bullying for posting on the It Gets Better website.

Tickets: Free, but you must reserve them at the ticket office at 262-472-2222. Tickets also can be ordered online, where a fee will be charged, at gazettextra.com/getsbetter.

Related: Videos and other information from the It Gets Better Project can be found online at itgetsbetter.org.

JANESVILLE—Pity the bullies. They're dealing with difficult issues.

That was an unexpected message students at TAGOS Leadership Academy heard Wednesday from seven members of The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles.

Bullies often have been bullied themselves, said chorus member Jason Currie.

“You have to remember that the bully oftentimes is a victim acting out,” Currie said.

The chorus members all talked about being bullied for their sexual orientation, something they will bring to the stage Thursday night in a show in Whitewater.

The members said they're still harassed for being gay, but they have learned to brush it off and love themselves.

Several students talked about fighting with bullies. Chorus members said violence is not the answer.

Students need to learn they can't win an argument with a bully, said Liesel Reinhart, the writer and director of the show.

“The victory is in knowing that you were right,” she said. “You have to learn to be OK with that. That's the fight. The fight is inside.”

“I really liked that part a lot,” said Mercedes Jarabek, a TAGOS senior, after the presentation. “I'm definitely going to remember that next time.”

Several chorus members suggested students learn to let go of the hurt.

“You just have to say, 'Am I going to focus on it that much?' Because it'll destroy you if you let it,” Mario Mosley. “At some point, you just have to say, 'Whatever.'”

The show and presentation grew out of the It Gets Better Project, founded in 2010 after several highly publicized youth suicides related to bullying.

Chorus members said their goal is to encourage young people who are dealing with bullies not to give up.

“When you're an adult, the things that make you different are the things that make you successful, Reinhart said.

The group gave lessons in how to deal with difficult people in between songs, including “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin, Taylor Swift's “Mean” and Christina Aguilera's “Beautiful.”

Chorus member Mario Mosley said the best way to stop bullying is to “spread the love” by finding reasons to say nice things to others.